Hundreds arrested in US-led operation against sex predators

US authorities have arrested 255 suspected child predators and rescued 61 children in a five-week sweep that spanned nine countries and was known as “Operation iGuardian”.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency led the
international operation to capture online sexual abusers and
those who possess, produce or sell child pornography. The agency
told reporters that sex abusers are using a method known as
“sextortion”, in which they blackmail children into sending
pornographic images of themselves to the abusers.

"In many instances, the abusers take advantage of a sexual
image the child divulges in a chat room or over a text to force
the child to continue to produce darker and more pornographic
images on threat of broader disclosures of the images over the
Internet," ICE Director John Morton said at a news
conference.

Between May 28 and June 20, the agency made 244 arrests in the US
and 11 in Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, the
Philippines and Thailand. Four of the suspects were women and the
other 251 were men. Sixty of those arrests were made in the state
of Florida.

ICE also identified 61 child victims of sexual exploitation in
the US, Canada, Indonesia and the Netherlands. Of these, 22 were
9 years old or younger, and four were under the age of 3.
Forty-two of the victims are girls and 19 are boys.

Morton told reporters that 17 of the child predators were in
positions of trust. Nine were teachers and three were clergy
members. One man served as a missionary with the New Tribes
Mission in Sanford, Fl., and another was a federal employee at
Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County, Fl.

Another suspect was a 25-year-old Puerto Rican high school
cheerleading coach who had been blackmailing a 17-year-old girl
through the Internet.

ICE suspects that there are at least 80 additional victims that
may have been targeted.

“The sad truth is, there are many more child victims of sexual
exploitation out there who have not yet been rescued and are
still suffering,” John Ryan, chief executive of the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children, told Reuters.

Of those who have been arrested, 20 have been charged with online
sexual enticement of a minor, and 235 have been charged with
possession, production or distribution of child porn, traveling
with the intent to have sex with a minor, rape, or other related
offenses.

“We are in the midst of a very, very serious fight against
child abusers and pornographers,” Morton said. “These 255
arrests are an important blow in the fight, but we need
everyone’s help.”

The agency has warned the public that child abusers continue to
prowl social media sites to coerce minors into sending
pornographic images through “guile, deceit and extortion.”
This year, ICE has already arrested 1,674 child predators – a
rate that is far surpassing previous years. The agency arrested
1,655 child predators in 2012, 1,335 in 2011, and 912 in
2010.